NEW DELHI – Indian government on Wednesday formed a new integratedinstitutional mechanism, called the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) underthe chairmanship of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
The committee, which will be a permanent body, will prepare a draftnational security strategy besides undertaking a strategic defence reviewand formulating an international defence engagement strategy.
Sources told The Indian Express that the idea to create an institutionalmechanism which could undertake comprehensive and integrated planning ofhigher defence matters had been on the table for some time but was notgaining traction.
The idea got a push in recent months, particularly after the last budget,with the three service chiefs and defence ministry officials workingtogether to get it implemented.
Given the complex security environment and the volume of expenditure onnational defence, sources said that it was imperative to have a strongdefence planning mechanism. The present system was found insufficient toprovide the rigour necessary for the planning process, which led tocreation of this new institutional mechanism.
As per the government order issued on Wednesday, DPC will consist of theChairman Chiefs of the Staff Committee (COSC), service chiefs, DefenceSecretary, Foreign Secretary and Secretary (expenditure) in the FinanceMinistry.
The committee will operate through four sub-committees: on Policy andStrategy, Plans and Capability Development, Defence Diplomacy, and DefenceManufacturing Ecosystem. The membership and the terms of reference of thesub-committees will be finalized separately.
By bringing the Foreign Secretary and Expenditure Secretary into the formalplanning process of the Defence Ministry, the government has attempted toovercome the problems of coordination between various ministries on mattersof national security.
It has often been alleged that the defence planning process and therequirements of the armed forces have been cut off from the diplomaticpriorities and financial capacity of the government.